T A L K I N M A T H S
+ / - X
[A Not Even Remotely Official RADIOHEAD FAQ]
Ver 1.0.27. 16-Aug-2004
Incorporating:
Radiohead Mailing List FAQ
alt.music.radiohead FAQ
FAQ site/mirrors [text version]
http://www.radioheadfaq.co.uk/rhfaq.txt
http://www.radiohead.hopwood.org.uk/rhfaq.txt
FAQ site/mirrors [HTML version]
http://www.radioheadfaq.co.uk/rhfaq.htm
http://www.radiohead.hopwood.org.uk/rhfaq.htm
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athomosphere
\At'omos*phere\, n. the particular environment or surrounding
influence of extreme artistic ability [Thom Yorke, Radiohead];
'the athomosphere in the studio was awesome, man!' [syn: ambiance,
ambience, vibe] [egghist@centrum.is, paul@hopwood.org.uk]
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. About this FAQ.
1.2. History of the FAQ.
1.3. Revision History.
1.4. Credits.
1.5. Contacting the Editor.
1.6. Questions Still Needing an Answer.
2. THE BAND.
2.1. Who are Radiohead?
2.2. History.
2.2.1. Where did Radiohead go to school? Where did they meet?
2.2.2. 'On a Friday'.
2.2.3. Where does the band get its name?
2.2.4. Radiohead's climb to fame.
2.2.5. The Future.
2.3. Touring.
2.4. Background.
2.4.1. Are Radiohead a 'Britpop' band?
2.4.2. What's the connection with The Unbelievable Truth?
2.4.3. What is the deal with Thom's 'Presse Ne Pas Avaler' shirt?
2.4.4. What's the deal with Colin's trousers?
2.4.5. What's wrong with Thom's eye?
2.4.6. Why all the songs about cars?
2.4.7. What's that thing on Jonny's arm?
3. THE RECORDS.
3.1. Brief Discography.
3.1.1. Singles.
3.1.2. Albums.
3.1.3. Videography.
3.1.4. Bootlegs.
3.1.5. Unreleased material.
3.1.6. Things to come (The Next Album).
3.2. Artwork.
3.2.1. Who's responsible for the Pablo Honey cover art?
3.2.2. What's all that stuff on The Bends album cover?
3.2.3. What does the Esperanto on the Paranoid Android single
covers and on their official site mean?
3.2.4. What is(n't) the significance of the number on the Airbag
EP cover?
3.2.5. What's the deal with 'You' being listed on the sleeve of
this live EP I have, but it plays '[Nice Dream]'?
3.2.6. What's the deal with 'The Bends' being listed on the sleeve
of this live EP I have, but it plays 'Planet Telex'?
3.3. Buying and Collecting.
3.3.1. I'm looking to buy a copy of the Drill EP....
3.3.2. Where can I buy radiohead stuff online?
3.3.3. What's the Help album?
3.3.4. Was Let Down ever released as a single? What about a video?
3.3.5. Was Lucky ever released as a single?
3.3.6. What's so special about the Japanese releases?
3.4. The Videos.
3.4.1. Why is the 'Live At The Astoria' video so expensive?
3.4.2. I just heard that Radiohead are going to make a video for
every track on OK Computer, even Fitter Happier!
3.4.3. Radiohead videos? 7 Commercials? Eh?
3.4.4. What's all this about a new video? Meeting People Is Easy?
4. THE MUSIC.
4.1. What are the lyrics for.... ?
4.1.1. ...the chorus of 'Creep'?
4.1.2. ...Ed's background vocal at the end of 'Blow Out'?
4.1.3. ...that weird part in 'My Iron Lung'?
4.1.4. ...that loud bit in 'The Trickster' that nobody can
understand?
4.1.5. ...that bit at the end of 'The Bends' that's clearly
misprinted on the lyric sheet?
4.1.6. ...background lyrics at the end of 'Bulletproof'?
4.2. Samples, background voices and computer-generated speech.
4.2.1. What is the voice in Paranoid Android saying during 'What's
That?'
4.2.2. What is the voice saying in the background of 'Fitter
Happier'?
4.2.3. Whose is the voice in 'Fitter, Happier'?
4.2.4. Whose mad laugh is at the end of India Rubber?
4.3. What are all these strange words in their songs?
4.3.1. Ansaphone?
4.3.2. And what's a Belisha Beacon, then?
4.3.3. The bends?
4.3.4. Climbing up the walls?
4.3.5. Cotton wool?
4.3.7. How to disappear completely and never be found.
4.3.8. Iron lung?
4.3.9. Lurgee?
4.3.10. Maquiladora?
4.3.11. Pablo Honey?
4.3.12. Paranoid android?
4.3.13. Ripcord?
4.3.14. Telex?
4.3.15. IMF (in Electioneering)
4.3.16. Where/what is Palo Alto?
4.4. What is the meaning of the songs on OK Computer?
4.4.1. Airbag.
4.4.2. Paranoid Android.
4.4.3. Subterranean Homesick Alien.
4.4.4. Exit Music (For A Film).
4.4.5. Let Down.
4.4.6. Karma Police.
4.4.7. Fitter Happier.
4.4.8. Electioneering.
4.4.9. Climbing Up The Walls.
4.4.10. No Surprises.
4.4.11. Lucky.
4.4.12. The Tourist.
4.5. Remixes and Alternative Versions.
4.5.1. What's all this about a remix album?
4.5.2. What alternative versions are there of Radiohead songs and
who mixed/arranged them?
4.5.3. Why does my copy of Pablo Honey have an extra recording of
'Creep'? What's the clean version of 'Creep'?
4.6. Collaborations.
4.6.1. Sparklehorse, 'Wish You Were Here'.
4.6.2. Drugstore, 'El President'.
4.6.3. What is UNKLE?
4.6.4. Velvet Goldmine soundtrack.
4.6.5. R.E.M., Tibetan Freedom Concert.
4.6.6. Martin Phipps, 'Eureka Street'.
4.6.7. Björk, 'I've Seen It All".
4.6.8. PJ Harvey, 'Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea'.
4.6.9. Unbelievable Truth, 'Sharing'.
4.6.10. Headless Chickens, 'I Don't Want To Go To Woodstock'.
4.7. Music Videos.
4.7.1. In the video for 'Just', what does the man say in the part
without subtitles?
4.7.2. Who directed the videos for the Pablo Honey singles?
4.7.3. Tell me more about the Gorky's Zygotic Mynci video. I am
intrigued.
4.7.4. Who produced the videos of the Pablo Honey releases 'Stop
Whispering' and 'Creep'?
4.7.5. What is the song the band are seen working on at the end of
the 'Meeting People Is Easy' video? What are the words
printed on the cover?
4.8. What covers have Radiohead done?
4.8.1. Carly Simon, 'Nobody Does It Better',
4.8.2. Glen Campbell, 'Rhinestone Cowboy'
4.8.3. Oasis., 'Wonderwall',.
4.8.4. The Beatles, 'Tomorrow Never Knows'.
4.8.5. Tim Buckley, 'Sing A Song For You'.
4.8.6. Blondie, 'Union City Blue'.
4.8.7. Belly, 'Untogether'.
4.8.8. R.E.M., 'So. Central Rain'.
4.8.9. Elvis Costello, 'Wear it Proudly'.
4.8.10. Can, 'The Thief'.
4.8.11. Magazine, 'Shot By Both Sides'.
4.8.12. Neil Young, 'Cinnamon Girl'.
4.8.13. Neil Young, 'On The Beach'.
4.8.14. Felix Bernard & Dick Smith, "Winter Wonderland".
4.9. What artists (to use the term loosely) have covered Radiohead?
4.9.1. Frank Bennett, 'Creep'.
4.9.2. The Brit Pops Orchestra, 'Creep'.
4.9.3. Chino XL, 'Kreep'.
4.9.4. J Church, 'Creep'.
4.9.5. The Heartworms, 'Creep'.
4.9.6. Chrissie Hynde, 'Creep'.
4.9.7. Last Chance Lottery, 'Creep'.
4.9.8. Mark Owen, 'Creep'.
4.9.9. Tears for Fears, 'Creep'.
4.9.10. Z|ri West, 'Creep'.
4.9.11. Anthrax, 'The Bends'
4.9.12. Drugstore, 'Black Star'.
4.9.13. Marillion, 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
4.9.14. Alanis Morissette, 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
4.9.15. Raine (from Our Lady Peace), 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
4.9.16. Duncan Sheik, 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
4.9.17. Geoff Parnell, 'High and Dry'.
4.9.18. Holly Palmer, 'High and Dry'.
4.9.19. Brian Kennedy, 'Street Spirit'.
4.9.20. Sarah Slean, 'Climbing up the Walls'.
4.9.21. Brad Mehldau, 'Exit Music (for a film)'.
4.9.22. Hazeldine, 'Lucky'.
4.9.23. David Anderson, 'High & Dry' and 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
4.9.24. Pepper Acton, 'Creep'
4.9.25. Show Of Hands, 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'Lucky'.
4.9.26. Holy Roman Empire, 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'
4.9.27. Voodoo, 'Paranoid Android'.
4.9.28. Sentenced, 'Creep'.
4.9.29. Gina Jeffries, 'Creep'.
4.9.30. Shirehorses, 'No Big Sizes'.
4.9.31. 'Plastic Mutations: Electronic Tribute To Radiohead'.
4.9.32. 'Strung Out On Ok Computer'.
4.9.33. 'Anyone Can Play Radiohead '.
4.9.34. Ari Hest, 'No Surprises'.
4.9.35. Eddie Vedder, 'Creep'.
4.9.36. Darkness, 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'.
4.9.37. Damien Rice, 'Creep'.
4.9.38. Moby, 'Creep'.
4.9.39. Jamie Cullum, 'High And Dry’.
4.10. Miscellaneous.
4.10.1. Who is the female singer on How Can You Be Sure?
4.10.2. What's the meaning behind Airbag?
4.10.3. Is 'Paranoid Android' a reference to Douglas Adams
4.10.4. Does the Daewoo advert sound like 'No Surprises'?
4.10.5. Is 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' a cover of Bob Dylan's
'Subterranean Homesick Blues'?
4.10.6. What's the relationship between 'Subterranean Homesick
Alien' and Roger McGuinn's 'Mr Spaceman'?
4.10.7. What is the "sexiest song ever"?
4.10.8. What is the "second sexiest song ever"?
5. THE MERCHANDISE.
5.1. Does Radiohead have an official fan club? W.A.S.T.E?
5.2. Are there any Radiohead TAB books available?
5.2.1. Official album tabs.
5.2.2. 'Best of Radiohead'.
5.2.3. 'Make Music with Radiohead'.
5.3. What other books are available?
5.3.1. Green Plastic Watering Can.
5.3.2. Coming Up For Air.
5.3.3. Radiohead.
5.3.4. From A Great Height.
5.3.5. Hysterical & Useless.
5.3.6. Standing on the Edge.
5.3.7. Exit Music: The Radiohead Story
5.3.8. Karma Police (The Stories Behind Every Song).
5.3.9. Back to Save the Universe: The Stories Behind Every Song.
5.3.10. Radiohead: A Visual Documentary
5.3.11. Radiohead: In Their Own Words.
6. THE INTERNET.
6.1. Radiohead sites on the World Wide Web.
6.1.1. Official sites.
6.1.2. Links to other good sites.
6.1.3. Where can I get Radiohead .MP3s?
6.1.3b. I've found an MP3 of a song credited to Radiohead on a
Napster, AudioGalaxy (etc.), is it genuine?
6.1.4. Where can I buy radiohead stuff online?
6.2. Radiohead discussion groups.
6.2.1. Radiohead Announce/Regular Mailing list.
6.2.2. Usenet.
6.2.3. What's the deal with this IRC conference?
6.3. Do the band use the Internet/computers?
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. About this FAQ.
You are reading the Frequently Asked Questions document for the
Radiohead mailing list and alt.music.radiohead newsgroup. It is
posted to these groups at least once every two weeks. It may be
distributed freely as long as no fee is charged (excepting regular
service fees by Internet service providers) and it remains
unaltered and unabridged.
Netiquette and common sense suggest that you 'lurk' -read without
contributing- for two weeks before making your first post, so you
have no excuse not to have seen this file before you do so.
If you ignore the FAQ, and make a fool of yourself outright, you
waive your right not to be shouted at.
This FAQ is not in any way associated with nor endorsed by
Radiohead, Parlophone, Capitol, EMI, or anyone else except it's
editors and the member(s) of the mailing list and newsgroup who
have helped to compile it. No warranties, express or implied, are
provided with respect to this resource. Although the information
herein is deemed generally reliable and every effort is made to
keep it so, it's authors accept no liability for misinformation
propagated by this FAQ. E & OE.
The maintainers of the FAQ reserve the right to edit entries for
clarity or brievity. Submissions become the property of the
editor and are subsequently passed into the public domain.
The latest version of this FAQ is available from:
Text - http://www.radioheadfaq.co.uk/rhfaq.txt
HTML - http://www.radioheadfaq.co.uk/rhfaq.htm
1.2. History of the FAQ.
This file incorporates and supersedes two previous FAQs;
The RADIOHEAD MAILING LIST FAQ was originally compiled by K.Lee
[kql6708@is.nyu.edu] on 21-Jun-96. Later maintenance was carried
out by E.K.Sutcliffe [ega96eks@shef.ac.uk] who 'retired' in 1998.
The ALT.MUSIC.RADIOHEAD FAQ was created by Matthew
[mtb2@st-andrews.ac.uk]. Responsibility passed to Paul Hopwood
[paul@hopwood.org.uk] and David Deans when Matt's continuing
involvement became untenable in late 1998.
In the interests of consistency and to remove duplication the two
FAQs were merged into one. Primers for the Usenet newsgroup and
mailing list accompany this FAQ and deal specifically with the
issues relating to each forum.
1.3. Revision History.
21-Jun-96 v.0.1.a. RHML-FAQ compiled by K.Lee.
12-Dec-97 v.1.0. RHML-FAQ no longer "provisional".
09-Nov-98 v.1.0.a. RHML-FAQ final version.
05-Feb-98 v.1.0. AMR-FAQ compiled by Matt Bulb.
07-Nov-98 v.2.0. AMR-FAQ overhauled by Paul Hopwood.
16-Dec-98 v.2.3. AMR-FAQ final version.
04-Feb-99 v.0.1.0. RHML-FAQ/AMR-FAQ merged by Paul Hopwood.
07-Mar-99 v.1.0.0. RH-FAQ no longer "draft".
10-Mar-99 v.1.0.1. Minor updates and corrections.
30-Mar-99 v.1.0.2. Creep & SW video + minor amendments.
29-Apr-99 v.1.0.3. Books section updated
11-May-99 v.1.0.4. Videos, Jonny's arm brace + minor stuff
13-Jun-99 v.1.0.5. Minor release, tour and cover updates.
05-Jul-99 v.1.0.6. Links to Richard Arthur's discography.
14-Jul-99 v.1.0.7. Additional info added to section 2.4.5.
19-Aug-99 v.1.0.8. General housekeeping and grammar.
30-Aug-99 v.1.0.9. Updated and added numerous web links.
09-Oct-99 v.1.0.10. Removed references to Uptight website.
17-Oct-99 v.1.0.11. Added 4.6.6. and revised 4.10.1.
05-Nov-99 v.1.0.12. Covers section updated - added 4.9.25.
16-Jan-00 v.1.0.13. New .co.uk address, new album, webcast...
30-Jan-00 v.1.0.14. India rubber Q answered. Creep (edit).
24-Jul-00 v.1.0.15. Major update mainly ref: Kid A / tour.
05-Nov-00 v.1.0.16. Mostly minor email/web updates.
25-Nov-00 v.1.0.17. Lurgee definition. Some covers.
03-Dec-00 v.1.0.18. Magazine cover at Brussels.
09-Jan-01 v.1.0.19. Buying links updated.
02-Mar-01 v.1.0.20. Minor updates re: Amnesiac, credits, links.
23-May-01 v.1.0.21. Updates re: Amnesiac. Shirehorses "cover".
05-Aug-01 v.1.0.22. Minor updates re releases, tours etc.
06-Nov-01 v.1.0.23. Minor updates re releases, tours etc.
30-Mar-02 v.1.0.24. Email address changes.
13-Jul-02 v.1.0.25. Email address changes.
15-Aug-04 v.1.0.26. Major update, general tidy-up.
1.4. Credits.
Thanks go to Emma Sutcliffe [EGA96EKS@sheffield.ac.uk] and K. Lee
[kql6708@is.nyu.edu] for their work on the mailing list FAQ and to
Matt [mtb2@st-andrews.ac.uk] for creating the amr FAQ.
Stuart Crouch [stuart@pro-fit.demon.co.uk], Mark Noble
[mark@noble.com] and Dan Smith [dan.smith@bt.com] were all kind
enough to help with the various earlier conversions.
Our appreciation also to the regular contributors to the mailing
list, alt.music.radiohead and those quoted within the text for
providing much of the information contained herein.
1.5. Contacting the Editor.
This FAQ is maintained by Paul Hopwood [paul@hopwood.org.uk].
Suggestions, comments, additions, deletions, amendments, abuse etc
should be sent to [editor@radioheadfaq.co.uk].
1.6. Questions Still Needing an Answer.
If you have answers to any of these, e-mail the maintainer (see
above for the e-mail address).
2. THE BAND.
2.1. Who are Radiohead?
Radiohead are a band from Oxford, England. The members of the
band are as follows:
Colin Charles Greenwood, 26-Jun-1969
Bass
Jonathan (Jonny) Richard Guy Greenwood, 05-Nov-1971
Lead ('abusive') guitar, organ, synthesiser, piano, recorder,
weird effects beyond all comprehension
Edward (Ed) John O'Brien, 15-Apr-1968
Rhythm ('polite') guitar, backing vocals
Philip (Phil) James Selway, 23-May-1967
Percussion (that's Drums to you)
Thomas (Thom) Edward Yorke, 07-Oct-1968
Lead vocals, guitar
[Tina Kallimanis naveed@iaw.on.ca]
[Martha Ellen Levine martha@dig.engr.sgi.com]
2.2. History.
2.2.1. Where did Radiohead go to school? Where did they meet?
The boys met at Abingdon School, a boys public school close to
Oxford. Thom later went to Exeter University, Ed to Manchester,
Phil to Liverpool and Colin to Cambridge. Jonny went to technical
school but quit to do the band thing.
2.2.2. 'On a Friday'.
'On A Friday' was the original name of the group we know and love
as Radiohead. Jonny Greenwood, not part of the original line-up,
joined the band sometime after it was formed.
2.2.3. Where does the band get its name?
Radiohead most probably comes from the name of a Talking Heads
song, supposedly "the least annoying song" on the album 'True
Stories'. Radiohead may have said this in jest since reports are
that this song is actually one of the most annoying.
2.2.4. Radiohead's climb to fame.
After a disappointing debut release, 'Drill EP', Radiohead became
a household name when 'Creep' climbed to the top of the U.S.
charts. Widely written off as "one hit wonders", the rush to
deliver their first album 'Pablo Honey' (1993) yielded a
collection of songs which did little to give them credibility.
It wasn't until their second album 'The Bends' (1995) was
released that the band were to be taken seriously. Their
popularity rose steadily over the next two years, gaining momentum
with the "Britpop" movement of the mid-1990s.
Their third album, 'OK Computer' (1997) was well received, earning
Radiohead numerous awards and nominations and becoming widely
regarded as one of the most influential albums of the decade. The
tour promoting the album included a triumphant headlining set at
Glastonbury Festival, Michael Eavis recalling the performance some
years later saying "God, that was really magic, I'll tell you", in
spite of technical problems, and extreme weather that had
transformed the festival site into a mud bath.
The release of their next album, 'Kid A' (2000), despite a lack of
singles and being less warmly received by the music media and fans
alike, soured to claim the top spot in the U.S. album charts and
enjoyed similar success around the world. Their fifth album,
'Amnesiac' (2001), recorded during the same sessions as 'Kid A'
entered the U.K. and U.S. album charts at #1 and #2 respectively.
A live 8-track "mini-album" followed, 'I Might Be Wrong' (2001)
comprising live recordings of songs from 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac'.
Radiohead's sixth and most recent studio album, 'Hail To The
Thief' (2003) saw a return to more Rock-like form and became the
fastest selling album of the year, entering the UK album charts at
number one and reaching to top of Amazon's top selling music
chart, despite being leaked on the Internet almost three months
prior to it's release date. The band returned to the Glastonbury
Pyramid Stage, becoming one of the few bands ever to headline the
event more than once.
2.2.5. The Future.
Rumours are abound on the subject of Radiohead's future.
As fanatics with their finger on the pulse will know, Radiohead
have a healthy portfolio of, as yet, unreleased songs. Many are
available in various bootlegged forms. See 3.1.5. for more
details.
For more up-to-date, but often unsubstantiated, information check
out the various forums, newsgroups and IRC channels devoted to the
band.
2.3. Touring.
Radiohead toured non-stop after their signing to Parlophone in
1992 until the end of the North America leg of the OK Computer
tour. After completing the tour in New York City on 18th April
1998 they took a well-deserved before returning to the studio to
work on their fourth album. During the remainder of 1998 and 1999
they played only a handful of benefit gigs, returning briefly to
the U.S. for the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC, Amnesty
International in Paris on 10 December 1998 and an acoustic set by
Thom and Jonny at TFC99 in Amsterdam on 13 June 1999.
The band returned to the stage in June 2000 for their first UK
appearance since 1997, playing Scott Walker's Meltdown festival at
the Royal Festival Hall in London, showcasing material which was
to be released on 'Kid A'. A succession of European dates
followed, ending in Israel on July 9th then a tour of Europe with
their own tent at the end of 2000.
Much of 2001 was spent touring the US, with some gigs in Europe
and Japan. Their only scheduled UK gig of the year was their
triumphant home-coming at Oxford on 7th June 2001, playing to the
44,000 people who braved torrential rain to see the band headline
the one-day festival at South Park.
Touring schedules in recent years have been more relaxed, with the
band devoting more time between promoting albums to concentrate on
recording, solo projects, collaborations and family commitments.
For up-to-date tour information and tickets visit the official
Radiohead web site:
http://www.radiohead.co.uk
For a detailed gigography, see Richard Arthur's site at:
http://www.btinternet.com/~r.j.arthur/rh/
2.4. Background.
2.4.1. Are Radiohead a 'Britpop' band?
Who cares? The term 'Britpop' is as manufactured as Hear'Say and
lasted a similar period of time. The more enduring acts to emerge
from the 'Britpop movement' have moved on, many enjoying huge
success in their own right. As long as we know where to find them
on the shelves, why should other people's vain attempts to
pigeonhole a group matter?
2.4.2. What's the connection with The Unbelievable Truth?
Andy Yorke, Thom's younger brother, was lead vocalist in an band
called Unbelievable Truth. After releasing a single on Oxford
label Shifty Disco, they signed to Virgin in 1997 and released the
album 'Almost Here' and a bunch of singles before being axed in
early 2000. Their second album 'sorrythankyou' was released later
the same year, again on Shifty Disco. They split-up when Andy
left the band after their final gig at The Zodiac in Oxford on
16th September 2000.
Opinions on the quality of the band's work were, as ever, varied.
Most people with an open mind really rather liked them. But then,
so did the utter fanatics, but people hoping for another Radiohead
were disappointed.
Official site - http://www.unbelievable-truth.co.uk/
[Duncan McKean, duncan@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk]
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
2.4.3. What is the deal with Thom's 'Presse Ne Pas Avaler' shirt?
It is French for 'don't believe what the press says'; literally,
'do not swallow the press'. This is presumably a reference to the
poor way in which the music press has generally treated the band
or, for that matter, other musicians.
The graphic is a print of a poster from the Paris revolt of 1969.
For more info, go to:
http://burn.ucsd.edu/paris.htm
[Andrew Christie -- ulysses@accglobal.net]
2.4.4. What's the deal with Colin's trousers?
It all comes from a MM i/v which dates back to June 10, 1995.
Quoting the relevant part: 'This is Colin 4 a.m. He pulls a face,
slurps morsely at his wine, and gestures for a light. Someone
holds a candle across the table, and drips molten wax on his
trousers. "Oh ! My trousers ! Fuck ! - this is how you should
think of Radiohead" [dekoninck.v@pg.com]
2.4.5. What's wrong with Thom's eye?
The condition is one of two major possible medical problems, both
of which involve muscular paralysis around the eye. The first, is
congenital muscular fibrosis. This involves obstructing fibroids,
which prevent the muscles from functioning correctly. The second
is Dewaynes Syndrome, in which case the muscle connections are
improper and result in the eye being held in one position by a
hypotonic contraction. Both problems have remarkably similar
symptoms and are incredibly difficult to distinguish between to
anyone other than a trained oculist. We understand that Thom has
a remarkable amount of control in his eye, for someone who was
previously paralysed completely. As a child he would have
undergone numerous operations, and may have been made to wear an
eye patch in order to strengthen his weak eye. The purpose of
improving the condition of an eye in a case like this, is as much
aesthetic as it is visually beneficial, as the eyes are our main
form of bodily communication. Many thanks to a fairly anonymous
source - Thank you Wendy - for this information.
There are also a couple of other conditions which have similar
symptoms. Thanks to Janice Smith, a student nurse, for posting
the following information.
Horner's syndrome - a group of symptoms that are due to a disorder
of the sympathetic nerves in the brainstem or cervical (neck)
region. The syndrome consists of a constricted pupil, ptosis, and
an absence of sweating over the affected side of the face. [J.F.
Horner (1831-86), Swiss ophthalmologist]
McFerren, T. A (Editor) (1994) A Dictionary Of Nursing. Second
Edition. Great Britain: Oxford Reference. Page 216
Horner's syndrome. This is the description given to a combination
of changes resulting from paralysis of the sympathetic nerve in
the neck. They are: small pupil, a drooping upper lid and an
apparently (though not actually) sunken eye.
Macpherson, G. (editor) (1995) Black's Medical Dictionary. 38th
Edition. London: A & C Black Limited. Page 236.
Ptosis - drooping of the upper eyelid. This may be due to a
disorder of the ocularmotor nerve, a disease of the eye muscle, or
myasthenia gravis; it may also occur as part of Horner's syndrome
or as an isolated congenital feature.
McFerren, T. A (Editor) (1994) A Dictionary Of Nursing. Second
Edition. Great Britain: Oxford Reference. Page 386
[Janice Smith -- Janice_Smith@bigfoot.com]
2.4.6. Why all the songs about cars?
You may have noticed that a lot of Thom's songs and lyrics deal
with transport. Thom has a strong dislike of the way the human
race looks upon cars. He considers them to be highly dangerous,
considering the age we live in, and has expressed his shock at the
way cars seem to be overlooked in the pursuit of a modern life.
Because being a member of a touring band involves a lot of moving
around, you might imagine why he centres upon it.
2.4.7. What's that thing on Jonny's arm?
It's a wrist brace, used to support the joint. It's likely that
he wears it to provide relief from a condition known as Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome, or RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury), which causes
joint pain when any action or movement is performed repetitively
over a prolonged period. It is a common ailment amongst typists
and VDU operators.
It could also be used to provide some support to his wrist and
prevent muscle strain caused by his aggressive playing style and /
or prevent him from gashing his lower-arm against the bridge of
his guitar. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
3. THE RECORDS.
3.1. Brief Discography.
While by no means comprehensive, the following list shows the
band's main releases to date.
Richard Arthur's authoritative site, which is probably the most
exhaustive listing available, may be found at:
http://www.btinternet.com/~r.j.arthur/rh/
Less detailed but more graphical versions are to be found at:
http://www.ateaseweb.com/discography/
3.1.1. Singles.
Drill EP May-1992
Creep (1st UK release) Sep-1992
Anyone Can Play Guitar Feb-1993
Pop Is Dead May-1993
Creep (re-release) Sep-1993
Stop Whispering (U.S./Aus) 1993
Itch EP (Japan/NZ) Jun-1994
My Iron Lung Sep-1994 (reissued Sep-2000)
High & Dry / Planet Telex Feb-1995 (reissued Sep-2000)
Fake Plastic Trees Feb-1995 (reissued Sep-2000)
Just Aug-1995 (reissued Sep-2000)
Street Spirit (Fade Out) Jan-1996 (reissued Sep-2000)
Paranoid Android May-1997 (reissued Sep-2000)
Karma Police Aug-1997 (reissued Sep-2000)
No Surprises Jan-1998 (reissued Sep-2000)
Airbag EP (UK/US) Apr-1998
NS/Running From Demons EP (Japan) Aug-1999
Pyramid Song Jun-2001
Knives Out Aug-2001
I Might Be Wrong - live EP Nov-2001
There There May-2003
Go To Sleep Aug-2003
2+2=5 Nov-2003
Com Lag: 2+2=5 EP(Japan) May-2004
3.1.2. Albums.
Pablo Honey Feb-1993
The Bends Mar-1995
OK Computer Jun-1997
Kid A Oct-2000
Amnesiac Jun-2001
Hail To The Thief Jun-2003
3.1.3. Videography.
Live At The Astoria Mar-1995
7 Television Commercials May-1998
Meeting People Is Easy Nov-1998 (May-1999 worldwide)
3.1.4. Bootlegs.
The number of bootlegs available on CD or CD-R increases at an
incredible rate. Suffice to say there are more than the average
fan will ever have time or cash (or desire, considering the poor
quality of many) to hunt down.
Richard Arthur's discography also lists bootlegs (see 3.1.) and
he has created a cross-reference which is available from:
http://www.btinternet.com/~r.j.arthur/rh/
3.1.5. Unreleased material.
A fair amount material played during various tours or recorded in
remains unreleased studio session, much of which may yet appear as
B-sides or surface from future recording endeavours. It is not
unknown for the band to occasionally revisit and re-work ideas.
The band rehearsed and performed a handful of new songs during the
OK Computer tour (1997-1998). 'Big Ideas... Don't Get Any' (aka
Nude or Neut) and 'I Promise' have yet to be officially released.
It was reported that the band attempted to record 'Big Boots' (aka
'Man-o-war') during 1998 for The Avengers soundtrack but were
unhappy with the results. The song has since been dropped and it
seems unlikely that it be re-recorded in the foreseeable future.
Older unreleased material, such as 'Lift', no longer form part of
the bands live repertoire and will probably remain unreleased.
3.1.6. Things to come (The Next Album).
Most of the new songs documented in Ed's diary on the official web
site and played live during 2000/2001 have been released on
'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac'.
While there remains some material which has yet to be released, it
is probably not sufficient in volume or quality to fill another
album. Subsequently the band are unlikely to release a seventh
studio album without returning to the studio to record new
material.
3.2. Artwork.
3.2.1. Who's responsible for the Pablo Honey cover art?
The CD booklet reveals the following attributions: Paintings (C)
Lisa Bunny Jones. Design by Icon. Photography by Tom Sheenan.
Further reports on who these people are would be welcomed.
3.2.2. What's all that stuff on The Bends album cover?
The cover is taken from one of those dummies they use to teach
mouth-to-mouth that they found in the John Radcliffe hospital in
Oxford. The inside cover includes pictures (from left to right)
of a blown up belly of a Gulf war soldier (as in expanded not
exploded), some people walking along a street in New Zealand, the
colours used on the Bends T-shirt, a face drawn by Thom, Japanese
car salesmen, symbols from a Japanese weather programme, someone
being given defibrillator treatment, the band in an airport
lounge, an icon of the old revolving world the BBC used to use
before programmes came on).
[URBANE GUERRILLA -- ed.hearsey@mcps.co.uk]
3.2.3. What does the Esperanto on the Paranoid Android single
covers and on their official site mean?
Dangera najbar-ajo: Dangerous neighbourhood.
Injektiklo: syringe.
Malamikigi: to antagonize, or more accurately, to make an enemy or
to make enemies.
Malvenkemo: defeatism, although the root "venk-" can be translated
both as victory and defeat.
Simbolo: symbol.
Mortigi tempo: mortigi tempon would be translated as killing time.
As written, it could easily be taken to mean a time
to kill. (found in w.a.s.t.e catalogue and the Hub
Design Studio site http://www.hub.co.uk/hub/).
See http://www.esperanto.net for more information about Esperanto.
[Thomas L. Rochestro -- thos1@my-dejanews.com]
3.2.4. What is(n't) the significance of the number on the Airbag EP
cover?
Precede the number, 1426148550, with a zero (+44 if you are
outside the UK). It is answered by a pre-recorded 'Hello?'. This
is indeed Thom's voice; it used to be his old pager number. If
you are one of those who called and left messages, although it is
believed the band listened to them it's unlikely they will be
doing anything with the recordings.
[Alex Kent] [posted by: Cathy Fan -- cfan@storm.ca]
3.2.5. What's the deal with 'You' being listed on the sleeve of
this live EP I have, but it plays '[Nice Dream]'?
Some copies of the Belgian 'Live EP' and Dutch 'Pinkpop' given
away with some copies of 'The Bends' sold in those countries, were
mis-pressed.
Thomas Vander Stichele (Thomas.VanderStichele@rug.ac.be) confirms
that there are, contrary to previous versions of this FAQ, some
versions of this EP that do play 'You'.
3.2.6. What's the deal with 'The Bends' being listed on the sleeve
of this live EP I have, but it plays 'Planet Telex'?
Copies of the Irish 'The Bends' live EP were pressed which played
'Planet Telex' rather than the title track. This seems to be
equally as common as the CD with the correct track listing.
3.3. Buying and Collecting.
3.3.1. I'm looking to buy a copy of the Drill EP....
Good luck. It's now valued at about 275UKP, and it's not going to
stop increasing in value any time soon. You can probably assume
that nobody from any of the fan forums lucky enough to own a copy
is going to sell theirs. You'd have better luck trying the
'used' collectors record stores on the net. Esprit (EIL), Energy
Music, Map Records, Opal Music (see 3.3.2.) and so on. Yes, they
charge a fortune. Live with it or do without.
3.3.2. Where can I buy radiohead stuff online?
There are many online vendors selling Radiohead goods. The
following have been used and recommended by many people in the
newsgroup.
i. Current Releases.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=radioheadfaq0f
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/radioheadfaq
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/whs/go.asp?menu=Music&shop=23356
ii. Rare and Hard-to-find.
http://eil.com/partner/radiohead6.asp
http://www.opalmusic.com
http://www.maprecords.co.uk
Also, keep reading the groups, as they are (un?)fortunately prone
to the occasional advert.
3.3.3. What's the Help album?
'Help' is a benefit album for the Bosnian victims of the Serbian
'ethnic cleansing' and general chaos in Yugoslavia. Musically,
it's mostly notable for the standout Radiohead track 'Lucky' --
one of the consensus favourites of RH-list members, which was also
released as a single before being included on OK Computer.
Apparently some of the albums didn't have track listings, and as a
result some previous versions of this FAQ reproduced the entire
track listing; however, it has since been deemed to be a large
expenditure of space for relatively little gain. The truly
curious are advised to go forth and search among the numerous
Radiohead web sites (see the end of this FAQ).
3.3.4. Was 'Let Down' released as a single? What about a video?
Let Down could be described as a 'radio single' - it was given to
many radio stations as a promo - though there was never an
official public release as a single. The track also featured on
the French and Japanese 'Karma Police' singles. A video was
supposedly made, but withdrawn at great personal expense to the
band because they were not satisfied with it.
3.3.5. Was 'Lucky' ever released as a single? What about a video?
Not as such, though it was recorded on 4th September 1995 for the
Warchild benefit album and selected as the opening track for the
Help EP. An accompanying video was made which features the band
in the studio and footage of children in the war-torn former
Yugoslavia. Unfortunately commercial success of the single
suffered because Lucky was deemed not to be "radio friendly" and
failed to get play-listed by radio stations.
The same recording of the song later made it onto OK Computer and
was to be released again as a single in it's own right but,
although promos were issued to radio stations, it was only
released commercially in France. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
3.3.6. What's so special about the Japanese releases?
Japanese pressings of the first two albums contain otherwise hard-
to-find bonus tracks. There are also several EPs which include
rare recordings and B-sides from singles that were only readily
available in the UK and have long since been "deleted". While
more expensive than domestic releases, they are readily available
on import and offer an easy and less costly way to own some of the
bands' older and more difficult to find material.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
3.4. The Videos.
3.4.1. Why is the 'Live At The Astoria' video so expensive?
The Astoria video was never released in the U.S. It is widely
available (and cheap!) in the UK, Europe and Australasia; those
areas of the world which use PAL format VHS recorders.
An NTSC version, the format used in America, was only officially
released in Japan. Japanese imports are expensive and prices of
around $80 are common. [paul@hopwood.org.uk,frouser@geocities.com]
Alternatively, CD Europe in Florida will import a PAL copy from
Europe and convert it to NTSC for around $42 all inclusive. Their
web site is at:
http://www.cdeurope.com
3.4.2. I heard that Radiohead are going to make a video for every
track on OK Computer, even Fitter Happier!
It was a plan, but it was abandoned due to time and financial
constraints after the band scrapped the video for 'Let Down'.
3.4.3. Radiohead videos? 7 Commercials? Eh?
The videos to Radiohead's seven most recent singles; Just, Fake
Plastic Trees, High & Dry (US version), Street Spirit (Fade Out),
Paranoid Android, No Surprises and Karma Police have been released
on one VHS cassette.
3.4.4. What's all this about a new video? Meeting People Is Easy?
Grant Gee, also responsible for the No Surprises video, spent a
year with Radiohead making a 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary called
'Meeting People Is Easy'. It features footage of the band and
live performances from the OK Computer tour, as well as snippets
from some of the, as yet, unreleased new songs. The video was
released in PAL format in UK/Europe on 30th November 1998 but was
initially available only from independent stores. Many large
retailers refused to stock it because the '15' certification was
not printed on the front cover. After numerous delays, the NTSC
and DVD formats were finally released worldwide in May 1999.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4. THE MUSIC.
4.1. What are the lyrics for.... ?
It is beyond the scope of this FAQ to reprint every obscure lyric.
However, there are several lyric archives on the web, although
none of them is necessarily definitive. See section 6 for a list
of web pages; most of them have some sort of lyric archive
(notably, the official site does not).
4.1.1. ...the chorus of 'Creep'?
But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here? I
don't belong here. NOT 'I'm a widow'.
4.1.2. ...Ed's background vocal at the end of 'Blow Out'?
The generally accepted version is: all wrapped up in cotton wool,
all wrapped up in sugar-coated pills.
4.1.3. ...that weird part in 'My Iron Lung'?
The headshrinkers, they want everything, my Uncle Bill, my Belisha
beacon. [Roger Singh, ai148@freenet.toronto.on.ca]
4.1.4. ...that loud bit in 'The Trickster' that nobody can
understand?
Truant kids, a can of brickdust worms, who do not want to climb
down from their chestnut tree
4.1.5. ...that bit at the end of 'The Bends' that's clearly
misprinted on the lyric sheet?
Where do we go from here? the planet is a gunboat in a sea of fear
and where are you?
4.1.6. ...background lyrics at the end of 'Bulletproof'?
It's actually just Ed making noises, mumbling. nothing else.
(quoted from a press source) [Jonathon S. Moore]
4.2. Samples, background voices and computer-generated speech.
4.2.1. What is the voice in Paranoid Android saying during 'What's
That?'
'I may... be paranoid, but.... not an...android.' and then, 'I may
... be paranoid, but.... no ...android.' That's the most popular
theory. Nothing is official, there is still argument over what the
voice actually says. However, members have agreed to disagree.
Whatever you hear is as right as anyone else. We just don't want
to know about it.
[Peter Campbell -- petecamp@mersinet.co.uk] [TheBobbert@aol.com]
4.2.2. What is the voice saying in the background of 'Fitter
Happier'?
'This is the Panic Office. Section 9-17 may have been hit.
Activate following procedure.' The clip, which is repeated
throughout the track, is taken from 'Flight of the Condor'.
[Dan Smith -- dang65@yahoo.com]
4.2.3. Whose is the voice in 'Fitter, Happier'?
It is not Thom's distorted vocals, a guest appearance by Steven
Hawking, or a PC. The voice was done on a Macintosh computer.
speech is generated from typed text into one of 20 or so voices;
the one used in 'Fitter, Happier' believed to be 'Fred'.
[John M. P. Athayde -- eljuanbobo@list.org]
Thom wrote Fitter Happier to unlock his thoughts at the beginning
of the 'OK Computer' creation process. The lyrics are supposedly
the result of an email exchange between Thom and female fan and
Thom was impressed by the way they were brought to life when he
ran them through his computer. And no, Steven Hawking will not be
touring with the band.
4.2.4. Whose mad laugh is at the end of India Rubber?
(was 1.6.3. Is that Thom's mad laugh at the end of India Rubber?)
The band have confirmed the mad laugh at the end of India Rubber
belongs to Jonny.
4.3. What are all these strange words in their songs?
4.3.1. Ansaphone?
Britspeak for an 'answering machine'.
4.3.2. And what's a Belisha Beacon, then?
A belisha beacon is a flashing yellow light atop a black and white
striped pole used for traffic barricades at pedestrian crossings.
There's a picture of one at:
http://www.picture-gallery.com/cdrom/thumb/env01/THUMBS072.HTML
They were named after Baron Leslie Hore-Belisha (1893-1957) who
instituted the use of belisha beacons while serving as British
Minister of Transport in the 1930's. He is also responsible for
introducing driving tests for motorists to England. He also
served as Secretary of State for War in the late 1930's.
[Belisha Beacon -- Maquiladora@webtv.com]
[Duncan McKean -- duncan@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk]
4.3.3. The bends?
The bends is an intensely painful condition experienced by divers
who resurface from deep water too rapidly, perhaps so named
because divers often writhe (bend) in agony when it happens. The
high pressure in deep water forces an excess of nitrogen to
dissolve in your bloodstream; if you resurface too quickly, the
nitrogen immediately forms air bubbles. This is one of the
reasons divers breathe special air with less nitrogen than normal
air.
4.3.4. Climbing up the walls?
'Climbing the walls' means to be so stressed, desperate, upset,
that you are figuratively doing the impossible -- climbing the
walls. It also sometimes has a connotation of being fenced in,
hemmed in, closed in. [Polar -- s.meric@ix.netcom.com]
4.3.5. Cotton wool?
Those puffy little balls of cotton you use for medicine etc. U.S.
equivalent is 'cotton balls'.
4.3.7. How to disappear completely and never be found.
Coincidentally this is also the title of a book by Doug Richmond
about: "Planning for a disappearance, arranging new
identification, finding work, establishing credit, pseudocide
(creating the impression that you are dead), and more"
The book cover can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/covers/0/80/651/559/0806515597.l.gif
[Scott Cairns, cairns@netaccess.on.ca]
4.3.8. Iron lung?
A mechanical apparatus that does your breathing for you when you
can't do it yourself.
4.3.9. Lurgee?
Lurgee (aka 'the dreaded lurgee') is a British expression for a
disease, illness or ailment.
It has been suggested the origin of the word could be as recent
as the 1950s when it used by Spike Milligan in the BBC Radio
comedy 'The Goon Show' (1950-1960). In the plot it was a disease
invented by two out of work doctors, both owners of music shops,
which could only be cured by playing in a brass band. It's most
likely the script writers didn't invent the word but simply
popularised it. Spike probably first heard it while serving in
the Royal Artillery during World War II (1939-1945), when it is
thought to of been used to refer to sickness brought on by
drinking contaminated foreign water.
There's also a game called Lurgee, based on "tag", played by
English children. The game involves an inflicted player catching
and passing on the Lurgee by touching other players.
[Alison@alisonpage.demon.co.uk] [thinker_451@ntlworld.com]
[freakizh@yahoo.com]
4.3.10. Maquiladora?
The majority of releases including this song use the one-l
spelling 'maquiladora', which means: Plant that executes, for a
more important company, one of the operations of the process of
the fabrication of a product.
[Jay Collins -- 5COLLINJ@stu.jmls.edu]
On the Capitol High & Dry Maxi CD it reads with two-ls,
'maquilladora', which means: 'Make-up lady' (the feminine of
maquillador). [Peter -- hcrawley@iol.ie]
More commonly, the term is used with either spelling to refer to
the US/Mexico trade agreement and the sweatshop-like factories
just south of the US-Mexico border where US corporations exploit
Mexican workers at ludicrously low wages. The previous working
title of 'Interstate 5' would suggest this being the definition
most relevant to the song. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.3.11. Pablo Honey?
There are 2 guys from New York called 'The Jerky Boys.' They make
prank phone calls and record them on tape. Back in the early 90s,
these tapes were only available through bootleg. Somehow, a tape
made it to Jonny Greenwood. [Bryce, wdumont@ix.netcom.com]
The full transcript of the prank call goes like this:
-Hello?
-Yeah?
-Pablo, honey?
-Yeah?
-Please,honey,come down to Florida.
-Huh?
-Come to Florida,honey,we need to...
-Yeah? Who's this?
-Pablo, honey, been washing your ass, Pablo?
-Who is this?
-Keep yourself clean, honey?
-Hello?
-Pablo?
-Yeah?
[1:40 onwards, How Do You, right speaker]
-Please come to Florida
-Who the hell is this?
-Oh you...you bastard,you.....
-Hello?
-Pablo..
-Yeah?
-You bastard.......Pablo?
-- Thanks to Peter Campbell (petecamp@mersinet.co.uk).
4.3.12. Paranoid android?
No one knows who this 'android' is for sure. Though the band
Marvin, who also released the single 'Marvin the Paranoid Android'
in 1981, is one of the better-known. The origin of the phrase
'paranoid android', however, is generally understood to be the
'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', a 1970s book by Douglas Adams
which started out as a BBC radio series a few decades ago. The
book, which spawned (among other things) four sequels, a movie,
and an illustrated digitally-rendered coffee table book, has
something of a cult following among science fiction fans. One of
the characters in the series is a robot named Marvin the Paranoid
Android, who belongs to a new generation of robots with 'Genuine
People Personalities'. Marvin's 'Genuine People Personality' is,
more or less, melancholic misanthropy. He lives in eternal pain
and suffering, and, due to various time-travel exploits,
unfortunately lives to be 'thirty-seven times older than the
Universe itself'. However, in the end, he does find some
redemption in discovering God's Last Message to His Creation: 'We
apologise for the inconvenience.'
Thanks to (non-listee) Richard Arthur (rja@cegelecproj.co.uk) and
Robert Dane (rjdan@netcomuk.co.uk) for their assistance with this
section. What all this has to do with the song itself, however,
is unclear, except that the phrase 'off with his head' has some
significance in the plot.
4.3.13. Ripcord?
A ripcord is the thing you pull on a parachute pack to make it
open.
4.3.14. Telex?
Telex is defined as any form of two way communication involving
two or more computers. [Dumont -- wdumont@ix.netcom.com]
4.3.15. IMF (in Electioneering)
Stands for International Monetary Fund. Like most arms of the
U.N., it is often believed to be a puppet of the United States
government, oriented towards manipulating global financial markets
to serve the interests of American big business.
[wuhwms@pd.jaring.my, K.Lee]
4.3.16. Where/what is Palo Alto?
Palo Alto is in California, USA, about 40 miles south of San
Francisco. Entering the city, the welcome sign reads "Welcome to
Palo Alto, A city of the future". It is 25.9 miles square with a
population of about 55,900 (1995) and is the home to Stanford
University and various high-tech' industry giants.
It's most famous establishment is probably Xerox PARC (Palo Alto
Research Centre), which invites really brainy people to sit around
and be clever all day. Without them, you probably wouldn't be
reading this as they invented the GUI (the inspiration for MacOS
and Windoze), Ethernet and Object Programming.
[Heather -- daria_m@hotmail.com]
[Stephen Crompton -- scrompton@quantisci.co.uk]
[Joshua -- Jizzosh@aol.com]
4.4. What is the meaning of the songs on OK Computer?
The following are the explanations for the songs from OK Computer,
as given by Thom in an interview for Select Magazine in the UK.
[thanks to Jennifer for typing these up]
4.4.1. Airbag.
Has an airbag saved my life? Nah...but I tell you something,
every time you have a near accident, instead of just sighing and
carrying on, you should pull over, get out of the car and run down
the street screaming, 'I'm BACK! I'm ALIVE! My life has started
again today!'. In fact, you should do that every time you get out
of a car. We're just riding on those things - we're not really in
control of them.
4.4.2. Paranoid Android.
Basically an excuse to weld loads of half-finished songs together
'Abbey Road' style. It's Radiohead, pissed and having a party. I
wasn't there when it was all stuck together--I'd been sent to bed
to sleep it off. What's it about? The fall of the Roman Empire.
4.4.3. Subterranean Homesick Alien.
Ah, this is us desperate to be Miles Davis on 'Bitches Brew'.
It's got a groove. And it used to be called 'Uptight'. That's it
really.
4.4.4. Exit Music (For A Film).
We wrote this for 'Romeo & Juliet'. I saw the Zeffirelli version
when I was 13 and I cried my eyes out, because I couldn't
understand why, the morning after they shagged, they didn't just
run away. It's a song written for two people who should run away
before all the bad stuff starts. A personal song.
4.4.5. Let Down.
I was pissed in a club, and I suddenly had the funniest thought
I'd had for ages - what if all the people who were drinking were
hanging from the bottles... if the bottles were hung from the
ceiling with string, and the floor caved in, and the only thing
that kept everyone up was the bottles? It's also about an
enormous fear of being trapped.
4.4.6. Karma Police.
This is really schizophrenic, isn't it? There's that huge
personality change halfway through. Wait until you see the video!
We're making the whole LP into a film, commissioning it song by
song. [Jennifer's note: Ehhh...not anymore *giggle*]
4.4.7. Fitter Happier.
The others were downstairs, 'rockin'', and I crept upstairs and
did this in ten minutes. I was feeling incredible hysteria and
panic, and it was so liberating to give the lyrics to this neutral
-sounding computer.
4.4.8. Electioneering.
I was thinking of the Poll Tax riots when I wrote this - the
moment when the horses broke through the barriers and everyone
started smashing windows. It's also from watching too many MPs on
telly - you just get that feeling of Whoah, I've seen this once
too many times.
4.4.9. Climbing Up The Walls.
This is about the unspeakable. Literally skull-crushing. I used
to work in a mental hospital around the time that Care In The
Community started, and we all just knew what was going to happen.
And it's one of the scariest things to happen in this country,
because a lot of them weren't just harmless... It was hailing
violently when we recorded this. It seems to add to the mood.
4.4.10. No Surprises.
The first song we recorded - that, erm, haunting, child-like
guitar sound set the mood for the whole album. We were going for
that 'Pet Sounds' vibe.
4.4.11. Lucky.
Everyone knows about this one. Recorded for War Child, unplayed
by Radio. Who's 'Sarah'? No one I know. It's just my favourite
name.
4.4.12. The Tourist.
Ah, one of Jonny's songs. The lyrics come from being in a
beautiful square in France on a sunny day, and watching all these
American tourists being wheeled around, frantically trying to see
everything in ten minutes. You know: We've got to be in Paris
tomorrow morning! And then I saw this old bloke on telly, saying
that he couldn't work out why the world had got so fast and in a
hurry. I just had an image of him standing on a street corner,
watching the traffic hurl by.
4.5. Remixes and Alternative Versions.
4.5.1. What's all this about a remix album?
Massive attack were cooperating on a remixed version of the OK
Computer album, to be released later in 1998. Due to 'time
constraints', this project has come to its demise. The bands
still hope to work together at some time, in the future.
4.5.2. What alternative versions are there of Radiohead songs and
who mixed/arranged them?
Blow Out - Remix version (Phil Vinnel-sp?)
Climbing Up The Walls - Filia Brazillia (single version)
- Filia Brazillia (Brazilification album)
- Zero 7
Karma Police - Filia Brazillia; was 'doing the rounds' in the
clubs Aug-Sept 97
Killer Cars - Mogadon version
Planet Telex - DepthCharge mix (found on 'Altered States')
- Hexidecimal dub (Steve Osborne)
- Hexidecimal mix (Steve Osborne)
- Karma Sun Ra mix (Karma Sun Ra)
- L.F.O JD mix, (L.F.O) also known as Mo' Wax mix
- Trashed mix (Alien Beatfreak)
Stop Whispering - US remix (Chris Sheldon)
Street Spirit - Planet Perfecto (Paul Oakenfold) Unofficial!
Stupid Car - Tinnitus mix (Chris Hufford)
on the 'Sharks Patrol These Waters' compilation
Talk Show Host - Black Dog mix (Black Dog & Webby)
On 'Foundations: Coming Up From The Streets'
-'Hooper' remix (Nellee Hooper)
Romeo & Juliet motion picture soundtrack.
4.5.3. Why does my copy of Pablo Honey have an extra recording of
'Creep'? What's the clean version of 'Creep'?
US radio regulations impose restrictions on the broadcast of
profanity. Because 'Creep' contains the "F word" Capitol,
Radiohead's record label in the US, edited the song, replacing
every instance of "fuck" with "very". The new Creep(edit), often
referred to as the "clean" or "radio friendly" version, was used
on US versions of the single and added to North American pressings
of the Pablo Honey CD as a hidden track.
In the absence of worldwide sales figures it is probably safe to
assume that there are at least as many copies of Pablo Honey in
circulation which include the extra track than without it.
4.6. Collaborations.
4.6.1. Sparklehorse, 'Wish You Were Here'.
Thom doesn't actually sing or perform on this Pink Floyd cover but
does some rather insignificant backing vocals, over a telephone.
In an interview for Australian radio the lead singer explained
that the group had some difficulty organising studio time with
Thom. It was agreed they would record the vocal over the
telephone, but, in the end, the recording was so bad that Thom's
only contribution was the sound of the TV in his hotel room.
[Nick Ian K -- daykarak@aol.com, Tim Byron -- winsloe@zip.com.au]
Available as a B-side to their 'Painbirds / Maria's Little Elbows'
single and on the 'Come Here' compilation album.
4.6.2. Drugstore, 'El President'.
Thom sings with Drugstore's lead singer Isabel Monteiro. The song
is available as a single or on their 1998 album 'White Magic For
Lovers', both on the Roadrunner label.
4.6.3. What is UNKLE?
UNKLE is an album project headed by James Lavelle and DJ Shadow.
Thom sings on 'Rabbit In Your Headlights', available as a single
in the UK and on the album 'Psyence Fiction'. Further details can
be found at http://www.unkle.com/ [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.6.4. Velvet Goldmine soundtrack.
Thom and Jonny performed in a group called The Venus In Furs along
with Bernard Butler, Clune, Paul Kimble and Andy MacKay. The band
was formed for the soundtrack of the film Velvet Goldmine,
produced by Michael Stipe. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.6.5. R.E.M., Tibetan Freedom Concert.
At TFC98 in Washington DC, 14-Jun-1998, Michael Stipe joined the
band on-stage to provide lead vocals on 'Lucky'. Thom made an
appearance on R.E.M.s set later the same day for 'Be Mine' and
'E-Bow The Letter'. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.6.6. Martin Phipps, 'Eureka Street'.
Ed O'Brien co-wrote and played e-bow and electric guitars on the
soundtrack to the BBC TV series 'Eureka Street', available on CD
from BBC Music. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.6.7. Björk, 'I've Seen It All'.
Duet between Thom Yorke and Björk featuring on 'Selmasongs', the
soundtrack to the film 'Dancer in the Dark'. Downloadable in MP3
format from the official Björk website at http://www.bjork.com.
[iamultragrrrl@aol.com]
4.6.8. PJ Harvey, 'Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea'.
Thom duets with Harvey on the song ‘This Mess We’re In’ which she
wrote with him in mind. He also sings on two other tracks on the
album, ‘Beautiful Feeling’ and ‘One Line’, due for release in
September 2000.
4.6.9. Unbelievable Truth, 'Sharing'.
Jonny Greenwood plays guitar on the song, recorded by Andy Yorke's
band in 1993. Available for download in MP3 format from their
website at http://www.unbelievable-truth.com.
4.6.10. Headless Chickens, 'I Don't Want To Go To Woodstock'.
Not strictly a collaboration per se, Headless Chickens were punk
outfit in which Thom played guitar while studying at Exeter
University. This track was released on the now very rare
Hometown Atrocities 7" EP (Hometown Atrocities Records 1989),
available with 'Face' sleeve or limited edition (50-100 copies)
'Disgrace to the Corpse of Kylie' sleeve. Recently re-released on
the CD compilation "Year Zero - The Exeter Punk Scene 1977-2000"
on the same label. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.7. Music Videos.
4.7.1. In the video for 'Just', what does the man say in the part
without subtitles?
This is rapidly becoming the most annoying question asked. Please
don't be the next person to ask it. The concept of the video
obviously negates the possibility of there being any real answer
to the question. It is an entirely hypothetical situation, in
which there is some scrap of knowledge which, if known, will cause
the effect seen on the people in the video. If you're still one
of that unfortunate camp of people not blessed with the ability to
consider such hypothetical situations, I recommend that you suffer
in silence.
Even if the man in the video does actually say anything, the band
have sworn to secrecy.
4.7.2. Who directed the videos for the Pablo Honey singles?
Tom Sheehan directed the video for Anyone Can Play Guitar. Also,
the video for Creep was filmed in Oxford's venue The Zodiac.
4.7.3. Tell me more about the Gorky's Zygotic Mynci video. I am
intrigued.
It's a spoof on loads of videos - No Surprises included. The
creators of the TV show 'Adam And Joe' made the mock up of using
toys. It features Mr Potato Head inside a glass filling with
water for No Surprises, a>plastic skeleton walking down a road
knocking people over (Bitter Sweet Symphony), stuffed animals
jumping all over the place and into walls (Song 2), and several
dolls wearing black dresses and makeup fronted by a guy in a white
shirt (Addicted To Love).
[gary@blandest.demon.co.uk, chevy@hustwayte.demon.co.uk]
4.7.4. Who produced the videos of the Pablo Honey releases 'Stop
Whispering' and 'Creep'?
According to one of the early w.a.s.t.e. letters, 'Stop
Whispering' is by Jeff Plansker and 'Creep' by Brett Tumbull.
[OhJayLymm -- lymm@pl.jaring.my]
4.7.5. What is the song the band are seen working on at the end of
the 'Meeting People Is Easy' video? What are the words
printed on the cover?
Both are from the unreleased song 'Man-O-War', more recently
known as 'Big Boots'. The footage is probably from their
abortive attempts to record the song for the soundtrack of the
film "The Avengers". Played a few times live, they have tried
to get the song to tape in the studio several times and have been
unhappy with the results. It seems likely that the song will
remain "unreleased" for the foreseeable future.
4.8. What covers have Radiohead done?
Very few, to our knowledge; we've only got a few stories. A quote
from an interview question about doing covers :
Thom - Not at the moment, no. I think we're going to do some,
but if we do, it would be like Frank Sinatra songs, and
really awful stuff. That way we could only improve it.
JR - Have you ever done any in the past?
Thom - Yeah. They're always awful (both laugh) and we always
chicken out with putting them on to tape because they're
so bad.
[Jane Foo -- av904@freenet.toronto.on.ca]
4.8.1. Carly Simon, 'Nobody Does It Better'.
The theme tune to the Bond movie 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.
Introduced by Thom as 'The sexiest song ever'.
[MS. Legge -- Matt.Legge@bristol.ac.uk]
4.8.2. Glen Campbell, 'Rhinestone Cowboy'.
They performed the song in 1993, possibly once only.
4.8.3. Oasis, 'Wonderwall'.
Thom Yorke did an hilarious cover/spoof recorded at CBC Studios,
Vancouver, Canada on 22 March 1996. Performing with John Auer
and Ken Stringfellow from the American band The Posies, the trio
gave up after the first chorus, conceding [it] was abysmal and
morphed the song into a slow, acoustic version of Blowout.
[Pytlik; Mark -- mpytlik@freespace.net]
Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan, a resident of Vancouver, played
a similarly shortened cover in Toronto in 19 July 1996 but it
isn't clear if this was influenced by the above broadcast.
4.8.4. The Beatles, 'Tomorrow Never Knows'.
Phil and Jonny playing the song with the supporting band during
the Autumn tour of Pablo Honey in St. Louis on 17th October 1993,
while Colin took photographs from out in the audience.
[Stephanie Ann -- Envious2@aol.com]
4.8.5. Tim Buckley, 'Sing A Song For You'.
First known performance was 11th July 1993 in San Francisco, and
the next at the 1994 Reading Festival. Thom opened up solo on his
acoustic guitar. [Roger Singh -- ai148@freenet.toronto.on.ca]
4.8.6. Blondie, 'Union City Blue'.
Performed for the French Black Session on 21st February 1995.
4.8.7. Belly, 'Untogether'.
Duet with Tanya Donelly of Belly.
[Jonathon S. Moore -- jsmoor0@sac.uky.edu]
4.8.8. R.E.M., 'So. Central Rain'.
The Babylon in Munich, Germany, 1st November 1997. [Heike]
4.8.9. Elvis Costello, 'I'll Wear it Proudly'.
Acoustic performance by Thom and Jonny at the Tibetan Freedom
Concert in Amsterdam, Holland, 14th July 1999.
4.8.10. Can, 'The Thief'.
Played at several shows during the European "Tent Tour" in 2000.
[Steven Bosmans -- bosmans@pandora.be]
4.8.11. Magazine, 'Shot By Both Sides'.
From Magazine's 'Real Life' album. Played on 12 September 2000 in
Brussels, Belgium.
4.8.12. Neil Young, 'Cinnamon Girl'.
Played several times during 2001.
[Tim Byron -- tpb04@uow.edu.au]
4.8.13. Neil Young, 'On The Beach'.
This cover first turned up at a sound check for the Maida Vale
show, an acoustic set by Thom and Jonny for BBC Radio 1 on
December 8th. This song was first broadcast on December 22 on
BBC 6MUSIC. [ateaseweb.com]
4.8.14. Felix Bernard & Dick Smith, "Winter Wonderland".
This song debuted during Radiohead's webcast on December 18th
2002. [ateaseweb.com]
4.9. What artists (to use the term loosely) have covered Radiohead?
Several, although some can only loosely be called covers.
4.9.1. Frank Bennett, 'Creep'.
Released in Australia as a single by a pseudo lounge singer under
the name of Frank Bennett. He is a member of Dave Graney and the
Coral Snakes and is also sometimes known as Tony Sinatra. The
song appears on "Five O'Clock Shadow", an album featuring covers
of songs from groups such as Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and Red
Hot Chilli Peppers.
[Tim Lee -- lazyzero@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au]
[Ian -- igroom@science.adelaide.edu.au]
[Tim Byron -- winsloe@zip.com.au]
4.9.2. The Brit Pops Orchestra, 'Creep'.
4.9.3. Chino XL, 'Kreep'.
He titles his version 'Kreep', and it isn't actually the song as
we know it. It just recycles the words 'I'm a creep, I'm a loser,
I wish I was special, you're so very special' as the chorus. Then
he raps for a while, bitching about other things, and talking
about getting high. . . . They do give credit to radiohead for the
lyrics saying that the song contains part of the composition
'Creep'. [tiM -- StpWhsprng@aol.com]
4.9.4. J Church, 'Creep'.
Awful punk rendition of the song.
4.9.5. The Heartworms, 'Creep'.
4.9.6. Chrissie Hynde, 'Creep'.
Recorded the song during The Pretenders' 'Isle of View' recording
session. It was cut from the album but appeared on the video and
as a B-side to the re-release single 'Kid'. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.9.7. Last Chance Lottery, 'Creep'.
4.9.8. Mark Owen, 'Creep'.
On UK television Channel 4's 'The Show'.
4.9.9. Tears for Fears, 'Creep'.
'We supported Tears For Fears in Las Vegas... no sound check, and
they were complete wankers. But for the rest of their tour they
did 'Creep' as their encore. He has to pay money for it, so that's
cool.' --Thom Yorke [tiM -- StpWhsprng@aol.com]
4.9.10. Z|ri West, 'Creep'.
4.9.11. Anthrax, 'The Bends'.
The American metal outfit covered 'The Bends'. You can get it,
either as a B-side to their single 'Inside Out', or on the
'Remixes and Rare' Japanese tour EP.
4.9.12. Drugstore, 'Black Star'.
4.9.13. Marillion, 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
Appears as B-side to 'These Chains' or as a bonus track on the
Japanese release of their album 'Radiation'.
4.9.14. Alanis Morissette, 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
She covered the song when Radiohead supported her in 1995. Only
available on a few of her bootlegs from this period.
4.9.15. Raine (from Our Lady Peace), 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
4.9.16. Duncan Sheik, 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
A live acoustic version appears on Duncan's 'She Runs Away' single
and 'At The Reservoir' live promotional EP.
4.9.17. Geoff Parnell, 'High and Dry'.
4.9.18. Holly Palmer, 'High and Dry'.
4.9.19. Brian Kennedy, 'Street Spirit'.
4.9.20. Sarah Slean, 'Climbing up the Walls'.
The song appears as a 'hidden' track on the CD version of this
unsigned Canadian singers' debut EP 'Universe'. Sleeve notes
include a credit to 'Radiohead - those blessed creatures'. Visit
her homepage at http://www.sarahslean.com - or you can order the
CD from Indie Pool (http://www.indiepool.com/) for $11.99 (CDN) +
shipping. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.9.21. Brad Mehldau, 'Exit Music (for a film)'.
Jazz artist Brad Mehldau has included a reading of 'Exit Music
(for a film)' on his CD 'The Art of the Trio, Vol 3' out on Warner
Brothers. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
A live and more improvised version is available on 'Vol. 4 - Back
At The Vanguard', also on Warner. Brad has also played 'Paranoid
Android' live, bootleg recordings of which may be available.
[sirmchyde -- mchyde@killall.net]
4.9.22. Hazeldine, 'Lucky'.
Appears on this New Mexico bands debut 1998 album 'Orphans',
published by Polydor/A&M.
4.9.23. David Anderson, 'High & Dry' and 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
David Anderson is a guitarist with the U.S. band Brother Cane.
When not performing with the group he plays solo acoustic sets of
his own music and eclectic covers, including Radiohead songs.
[Craig Smoot -- craigs@black-label.com]
4.9.24. Pepper Acton, 'Creep'.
Covers the song on her live "Ovaries II" cassette. For more info
visit http://pepper.by.net. [angrylilpixie@yahoo.com]
4.9.25. Show Of Hands, 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'Lucky'.
Show Of Hands (Steve Knightley and Phil Beer) are an English
acoustic duo who play 'World Music from the West Country [of
England]'. They started playing 'Fake Plastic Trees' in their
live shows after having seen Radiohead at Glastonbury (they were
on the bill as well), and have recently played 'Lucky' as well.
Steve Knightley has said that they'll include their version of
'Fake Plastic Trees' on their next recording (due out early 2000).
See http://www.showofhands.co.uk/ for more on them.
[Jeremy Walton -- jeremyw@nag.co.uk]
4.9.26. Holy Roman Empire, 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'
Appears as a B-side on their 'Holy Water Baby' single.
[Tim Gwinnett -- tim.gwinnett@net.ntl.com]
4.9.27. Voodoo, 'Paranoid Android'.
4.9.28. Sentenced, 'Creep'.
Finnish heavy-metal band Sentenced recorded an arrangement very
similar to the original. [a.j. ravelin -- antti.ravelin@tutka.net]
4.9.29. Gina Jeffries, 'Creep'.
This cover by Australian Country singer Gina Jeffries appears on
the CD 'The Andrew Denton Breakfast Show Musical Challenge'.
Other delights on this unlikely covers compilation disc include
'My Heart Will Go On' covered by hair metal band The Screaming
Jets, another country singer covering the Offspring and Neil Finn
covering Michael Jackson. [Tim Byron -- tpb04@uow.edu.au]
As well as those listed within the content, additional thanks to
Nadia [malik@enterprise.ca], Ed Hearsey [ed.hearsey@mcps.co.uk],
why do you care? [soothe@erols.com], BoGuS [bogus@epsilon.nl], '.'
[burri@bluewin.ch], wynne [wynne@tinet.ie], and Eric Korman
[st951461@pip.cc.brandeis.edu] for their help compiling this
section.
4.9.30. Shirehorses, 'No Big Sizes'.
Not strictly a cover, but this take-off of 'No Surprises' appears
on the Shirehorses (BBC Radio 1 DJs Mark & Lard) album 'Our Kid
Eh', the artwork of which shares more than a passing resemblance
to that of 'Kid A'.
4.9.31. 'Plastic Mutations: Electronic Tribute To Radiohead'.
This album, released on Vitamin Records, features electronic
interpretations of songs from Radiohead's first four albums.
[Tim Byron -- tpb04@uow.edu.au]
4.9.32. 'Strung Out On Ok Computer'.
Another questionable compilation of covers by those folks at
Vitamin. [Tim Byron -- tpb04@uow.edu.au]
4.9.33. 'Anyone Can Play Radiohead '.
Yet another in the line of dodgy "Tribute" albums, available on
the Anagram label. [Tim Byron -- tpb04@uow.edu.au]
4.9.34. Ari Hest, 'No Surprises'.
This cover by the New York singer/songwriter is available for
download from his web site at http://www.arihest.com/
[Eino Keskitalo -- eino.keskitalo@mbnet.fi]
4.9.35. Eddie Vedder, 'Creep'.
The Pearl Jam lead singer covered the song, with changes to the
lyrics.
4.9.36. Darkness, 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)'.
Performed live on number of occasions, Darkness' re-working of
the song was eventually recorded by the BBC in June 2003 for the
BBC3 TV series 'Re:Covered'. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.9.37. Damien Rice, 'Creep'.
Damien is reported to have played the song at Glastonbury Festival
2003 with, supposedly prompted by Thom asking other bands on the
lineup to play it as Radiohead themselves hadn't performed it
during their own headline performance the previous evening.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.9.38. Moby, 'Creep'.
Moby closed his headlining set at Glastonbury Festival 2003 with
this cover, supposedly prompted by Thom asking other bands on the
lineup to play it as Radiohead themselves hadn't performed it
during their own headline performance the previous evening.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.9.39. Jamie Cullum, 'High And Dry’.
Recorded for his album 'Pointless Nostalgic' (2002) Jamie has also
performed the song live, including his headlining appearance on the
World Stage of Glastonbury Festival 2004.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.10. Miscellaneous.
4.10.1. Who is the female singer on 'How Can You Be Sure'?
Background vocals are credited to Dianne Swann. Rumours that it
is actually Ed's voice re-sampled and the name is a play on words
for 'Dying Swan' would appear to be entirely unfounded.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
Dianne is the vocalist for a group called The Julie Dolphin. They
supported Radiohead on tour a couple of times and released one
album called 'Lit' before having record company troubles and,
more recently, re-emerging as Boom Boom Mancini. They have since
released two singles in England on their new record label Almo
Sounds, 'Super Model Human' and 'Arguments & Alcohol', taken from
their forthcoming album 'Mess Up Your Life'.
[Edward A Wakabayashi -- zorg@sirius.com]
4.10.2. What's the meaning behind 'Airbag'?
The song was inspired by piece of junk mail. Thom was reading a
flyer from the AA. That's the Automobile Association for those of
you not in the UK - a motorists organisation, as opposed to the
place where alcoholics go to dry out - anyone whose a member of
both has *real* problems! The song was initially titled 'An
Airbag Saved My Life' but later shortened to simply 'Airbag'.
4.10.3. Is 'Paranoid Android' a reference to Douglas Adams
'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'? What about the 'First
against the wall' bit?
Is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, 42?
4.10.4. Does the Daewoo advert sound like 'No Surprises'?
Yes.
4.10.5. Is 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' a cover of Bob Dylan's
'Subterranean Homesick Blues'?
No, but it is widely believed that the play on words is
intentional. There might be a more significant link if we also
consider the following question....
4.10.6. What's the relationship between 'Subterranean Homesick
Alien' and Roger McGuinn's 'Mr Spaceman'?
Roger McGuinn wrote for The Byrds, who often covered Dylan songs.
The song refers to alien visitors and the observer's desire to be
taken on-board their craft. Like the later Radiohead song, it
also refers to people as "Uptight".
Quoting the relevant part of the song:
"Must be those strangers that come every night
Those saucer shaped lights put people uptight
Leave blue green footprints that glow in the dark
I hope they get home alright"
Notice the use of "alright" at the end too, just like in SHA
"Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won't you please take me along
I won't do anything wrong
Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won't you please take me along for a ride"
[Frouser -- frouser@smileyface.com]
4.10.7. What is the "sexiest song ever"?
Thom used to introduce their cover of the Carly Simon song 'Nobody
Does It Better' as the sexiest song ever.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
4.10.8. What is the "second sexiest song ever"?
After a performance of "the sexiest song ever" (see 4.10.7. above)
at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas in December 1995, they
introduced 'Creep' as the second sexiest song.
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5. THE MERCHANDISE.
5.1. Does Radiohead have an official fan club? W.A.S.T.E?
W.A.S.T.E. is the official Radiohead fan club. 'We Await Silent
Tristero's Empire' is an acronym printed on the mailboxes used as
an underground message system in Thomas Pynchon's 'The Crying of
Lot 49'. Contact information for W.A.S.T.E products, ie
Radiohead merchandise, can be found at the official radiohead
site. W.A.S.T.E products are available from their web site at:
http://www.waste.uk.com
For a catalogue made from felled trees, send your name, and
complete mailing address to correspondence@waste.uk.com, or by
regular mail to:
W.A.S.T.E.
PO Box 322
Oxford
OX4 1EY
UK
5.2. Are there any Radiohead TAB books available?
5.2.1. Official album tabs.
Books for each of the albums with lyrics, chord boxes, tab, and
notation for guitar are all available in the UK priced between
£12 and £17GBP (about $22 to $32 US). They are published by:
Warner/Chappell music
International Music Press (IMP) Ltd
Southend Road
Woodford Green
Essex,
1G8 8HN,
England
[Henry Strong -- ev90223@dial.pipex.com]
(see links section at 6.1.2. for web sites)
5.2.2. 'Best of Radiohead'.
'Best of Radiohead' (ISBN 1-85909-582-8) is a piano/vocal/guitar
book published by International Music Publications Limited. The
songs in the book are Creep, Exit Music (For a Film), Fake Plastic
Trees, High and Dry, Just, Karma Police, Lucky, My Iron Lung, No
Surprises, Paranoid Android, Street Spirit (Fade Out), Sulk, and
The Tourist. Overall the arrangements are pretty good, (they were
done by Barnes Music Engraving Ltd, if you care) but they are not
amazing. A couple of chord progressions in Karma Police are weird
- they work - but they don't sound the same as the way the band
does them.
[Scott W Hawley -- faurequiem@mindless.com][adamada@freenet.co.uk]
5.2.3. 'Make Music with Radiohead'.
Published by Music Sales Limited. (ISBN 1-8432-8211-9).
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3. What other books are available?
5.3.1. Green Plastic Watering Can.
GPWC is a book about Radiohead and is published by:
UFO Music Ltd,
18 Hanway Street,
London,
W1P 9DD
Telephone: 0171 636 1281
It is priced at £12.99 plus £2.20 p+p. Ring before you order or
for the equivalent price outside the U.K.
[E.K.Sutcliffe -- ega96eks@sheffield.ac.uk]
5.3.2. Coming Up For Air.
The book came out in Spring 97. It can be obtained from:
Virgin Publishing Ltd.
332 Ladbroke Grove,
London,
W10 5AH
5.3.3. Radiohead.
A book called simply 'Radiohead' by Nick Johnstone came out in
November 97. [Annie -- neon_wilderness@hotmail.com]
5.3.4. From A Great Height.
Written by Jonathan Hale and published by ECW Press in April 1999,
'Radiohead- From A Great Height' (ISBN 1-55022-373-9) is probably
the most comprehensive book available about the band and features
exclusive photos, full (and mostly accurate) discography and
background on all the songs. [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.5. Hysterical & Useless.
Good history of the band with photographs. Written by British
music biographer Martin Clarke. Published by Plexus of London
(ISBN 0-85965-266-1). [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.6. Standing on the Edge.
Biography written by Alex Ogg. A bit sparse in the photograph
department but some rare shots from 1992. Published by Boxtree
(ISBN 0-7522-1843-3). [paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.7. Exit Music: The Radiohead Story
Written by US East Coast editor of LAUNCH, Mac Randall, and
published by Omnibuss Press. (ISBN 0-7119-7977-4).
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.8. Karma Police (The Stories Behind Every Song).
James Doheny's synopsis and interpretation of the events and
thinking behind the songs and their lyrical and musical workings.
Published by Carlton Books. (ISBN 1-8422-2621-5).
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.9. Back to Save the Universe: The Stories Behind Every Song.
James Doheny's synopsis and interpretation of the events and
thinking behind the songs and their lyrical and musical workings.
Published by Thunder's Mouth Press. (ISBN 1-5602-5398-3).
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.10. Radiohead: A Visual Documentary
A chronological documentary authored by Tim Footman, supposedly an
early associate of Thom Yorke, and edited by Billy Dancer.
Includes many rare full colour photographs. Published by Chrome
Dreams. (ISBN 1-8424-0179-3).
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
5.3.11. Radiohead: In Their Own Words.
Written by Susan Black and edited by Chris Charlesworth, attempts
to build a history of the band based on interviews and quotes
attributed to the band. Illustrated in black and white.
Published by Omnibus Press. (ISBN 0-7119-9167-7).
[paul@hopwood.org.uk]
6. THE INTERNET.
6.1. Radiohead sites on the World Wide Web.
6.1.1. Official sites.
Radiohead:
http://www.radiohead.co.uk
http://www.radiohead.com
W.A.S.T.E.:
http://www.waste.uk.com
Parlophone:
http://www.parlophone.co.uk
Capitol:
http://www.hollywoodandvine.com
EMI:
http://www.emirecords.co.uk
http://www.emimusic.ca
http://www.emimusic.nl
http://www.emimusic.de
6.1.2. Links to other good sites.
The following sites are essential reading for any Radiohead fan on
the Internet. They contain a wealth of useful information such as
biographies, discographies, pictures, sound samples etc.
At Ease [A Radiohead Site]:
http://www.ateaseweb.com/
Richard Arthur's Discography site:
http://www.btinternet.com/~r.j.arthur/rh/
Green Plastic Radiohead:
http://www.greenplastic.com/
Follow Me Around:
http://www.followmearound.com/
Radiohead on NME.COM
http://www.nme.com/artists/70940.htm
The Ultimate band links page, http://www.ubl.com is also worth
checking for other Radiohead related sites on the Internet. If
anybody feels left out, or has another favourite page, email the
maintainer of the FAQ.
6.1.3. Where can I get Radiohead .MP3s?
Most of the larger sites get removed, so the addresses of those
currently publishing MP3s would do better without excessive
publication. There are sites with MP3s available but asking in
the newsgroup or mailing lists probably won't get you an answer
but anyone not stricken with an allergy for search engines should
have no problems finding them. Google is your friend.
6.1.3b. I've found an MP3 of a song credited to Radiohead on a
Napster, AudioGalaxy (etc.), is it genuine?
All the songs released officially by the band are listed in the
Song list section of Richard Arthur's discography at:
http://www.btinternet.com/~r.j.arthur/rh/
If the song you have found is not listed in the above resource and
does not appear in the collaborations or covers sections of this
FAQ (4.6. and 4.8.) it's more likely than not a fake. Likewise,
if it's titled as a Radiohead song but doesn't /sound/ like
Radiohead, it's probably NOT Radiohead.
Many MP3 sources on the Internet carry files which are incorrectly
labeled as Radiohead songs; some deliberately, some otherwise.
The vast majority of them are fakes and the members of the mailing
list and newsgroup are unlikely to appreciate your being the next
person to ask if the song you've "discovered" is really Radiohead.
6.1.4. Where can I buy radiohead stuff online?
(see 3.3.2.)
6.2. Radiohead discussion groups.
6.2.1. Radiohead Announce/Regular Mailing list.
The mailing list at www.underground.net is no longer available.
If anyone knows of a similarly informative and accurate resource
please contact the FAQ author.
6.2.2. Usenet.
Fans of the group are found in alt.music.radiohead. Please
contact your Internet Service Provider if it is not in the list
of newsgroups available to you.
6.2.3. What's the deal with this IRC conference?
For those of you preferring the more immediate forum of IRC,
Radiohead channels exist on most of the major IRC networks. The
most notable being:
IrcNet - #radiohead
EFNet - #radiohead
Dalnet - #Permanent_Daylight
The later of which is often used for mailing list conferences.
6.3. Do the band use the Internet/computers?
Yes. Thom, Jonny, and Colin have all talked about their use of
the Internet. At least one member of Radiohead has had an account
with AOL and members of the band have used Macintosh computers.
The sad lives of people who start Apple vs. IBM arguments will be
graphically highlighted. The sad lives of people who 'need' to
know the email address of band members need not even be hinted at.
Look in the sleeves of either 'The Bends' or 'OK Computer' for
details of how to contact Radiohead through the correct channels.
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